UN chief: Gaza deaths and destruction shame world

Rescue workers remove the body a Palestinian man from under the rubble following an earlier Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on August 5, 2014, after a 72-hour truce agreed by Israel and the ruling Hamas movement went into effect. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday “the massive deaths and destruction in Gaza have shocked and shamed the world.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says “the massive deaths and destruction in Gaza have shocked and shamed the world” and is demanding an end to “the senseless cycle of suffering” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We will build again, but this must be the last time to rebuild,” the UN chief told the General Assembly Wednesday. “This must stop now. We must go back to the negotiating table.”

Ban said the UN understands Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas rockets but “the horror that was unleashed on the people of Gaza” raises serious questions about respect for international law that requires a distinction between civilians and combatants and proportionality.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay told the assembly that “any attacks in violation of these principles …. may amount to war crimes.”